YouTube upload
Uses the user's own Google Cloud project. First-time setup: setup.
Steps
-
Authorise once. If there is no token, ask the user to run in their own terminal:
node scripts/auth.mjsIt needs a browser sign-in; do not run it on their behalf in the background. -
Plan. Ask the user:
- privacy:
private(default),unlistedorpublic - schedule: an ISO date with time zone, or none (scheduled videos must be private)
- does the video contain realistic AI-generated or altered content?
- notify subscribers?
Then run:
node scripts/upload.mjs --dir <project-folder> --plan [--privacy private] [--schedule 2026-11-01T15:00:00Z] [--synthetic-media] [--notify-subscribers] - privacy:
-
Approval. Stop. Ask the user to watch the video and run the socialkit-youtube-pipeline approve command for the
uploadcheckpoint in their own terminal. Do not continue until the upload checkpoint verifies. -
Upload.
node scripts/upload.mjs --dir <project-folder> -
Report the result and every warning.
Output contract
JSON with videoId, url, studioUrl, requestedPrivacy, actualPrivacy,
publishAt, containsSyntheticMedia, thumbnail and warnings.
Failure handling
| Code | What to tell the user |
|---|---|
APPROVAL_REQUIRED |
Which file changed or which approval is missing; request approval again |
YT_NOT_AUTHORISED, YT_TOKEN_EXPIRED |
Run the auth script again (testing-mode tokens expire after 7 days) |
YT_QUOTA_EXCEEDED |
Daily quota used; resets at midnight Pacific Time; extension needs an audit |
YT_UPLOAD_LIMIT |
Channel upload limit reached; try later |
YT_ALREADY_UPLOADED |
This file was uploaded before; only re-upload if the user asks |
YT_CLIENT_TYPE |
The OAuth client must be a "Desktop app" client |
| Privacy warning | YouTube set a different privacy than requested; check YouTube Studio |
| Thumbnail warning | Custom thumbnails need a verified channel; set it in Studio |
Never retry an upload automatically after an error that may have created the video; check YouTube Studio first.